Vocabulary Reading:

Agriculture 2

This article uses words from the 1000-2000 range of the General Service List. Read it. Then answer the comprehension questions.

Work to do on the Mountain and in the Valley

The old man got up early and saddled his horse. He was going up the mountain to check on the sheep. He took along a rope in case he needed to tie up a sheep by its legs and bring it home.

His wife and son stayed home and pickedfruit in the valley. The pears were already ripe and the apples would soon be ready. They used a long handle that had a can attached to the end. In this way, they could pick most of the fruit while standing on the ground. Some fruit had already fallen on the ground near the tree roots. It could not be sold because it had already begun to rot. Some of the fruit at the tops of the trees got missed because it was either too hard to reach or was hidden by the leaves. They always invited their friends to come and pick the left over fruit for themselves. It would take too long to worry about getting every pear for market. It wasn’t worth the trouble. Besides, their friends were grateful for their generosity.

While the adults worked, the children played with the baby rabbits. Rabbitsreproduce quickly, so there were a lot of baby bunny rabbits hopping around the yard. Rabbits make good pets. At first they are afraid of people, but after being caught a few times and hugged by one of the kids, they become tame. The rabbits always seem hungry, so the kids pickraw lettuce from the garden for the rabbits.

That evening, the old man returned. The sheep were all safe. His wife and son returned with baskets of fruit and gave each child a pear.